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Saina Nehwal on Badminton’s new 3×15 scoring, P.V. Sindhu and India’s cricket dominance

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 19:50:00 +0000

Saina Nehwal chuckled when asked if the 3×15 scoring system, set to come into force from January 2027, could tempt her to return to the badminton court.

In theory, Saina, at least at her peak, would have revelled in this abridged format. Her natural attacking flair, speed and ability to close out games would have made her a neat fit.

While this could make for a good debate over coffee, the reality is quite different. At 36, and having gone through the intense grind of the professional tour for nearly two decades, Saina is unable to meet the physical demands of the sport.

“I wish I could come back, but I have total cartilage damage,” she said during a virtual interaction. “My knee is in a seriously bad shape. I cannot push for more than half an hour. But yes, I really do want to play.”

Saina believes that her contemporary P.V. Sindhu will benefit from the new rules. Sindhu, 31, maybe in the final stages of her career, but has plenty of fight left. In July, the double Olympic medallist served a reminder of her class by becoming the first Indian to win the Japan Open.

Merits and demerits

“The good thing is that Sindhu has the best physiotherapist and trainer. This is really helpful. Her court movement is very good,” Saina observed.

“From next year, when the points system shifts to 3×15, matches will get shorter. You will get a lot of recovery time between fixtures. There are big breaks between Super 1000 tournaments too, which guarantees good rest periods.

“Careers will extend longer because the matches are shorter. Any player can win tournaments in that scenario,” the two-time World championships medallist added.

Saina, the first Indian woman to reach the summit in the World rankings, added a note of caution regarding training regimens.

“The new scoring system will tilt the game towards power and speed. But when you train for power and speed, chances of getting injured are higher. If Sindhu can take care to avoid injuries, she can play for a long time,” she opined.

Looking at the talent that has emerged after Saina and Sindhu, there remains a gap in quality. The likes of Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma have registered some impressive wins, but are not yet world-beaters in the class of their seniors.

“In terms of attitude and skill, Tanvi and Unnati have a very bright future. They have gained experience and produced results. Devika [Sihag] and the other players need to improve a bit more.

“There are challenges – how do you make a comeback from a loss? How much do you train on a regular basis? Are you ready to push yourself and not give up? As far as I have seen, Tanvi and Unnati don’t give up. They keep fighting. They have the best coaches too. Tanvi is training under Park [Tae-sang], while Unnati is training with her father,” Saina stated.

Far from finished: With badminton set to shift to a shorter 3×15 scoring system, Saina feels double Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu can extend her career
| Photo Credit:
PTI

As for the best in the world, Saina rates 2024 Paris Olympics gold medallist An Se-young as a “once in a generation” player. She had taken on the South Korean when the latter was a promising youngster, sharing the spoils with a 1-1 head-to-head record.

“An can rally very well, and the improvement now is that she dives well to pick up shots. She has also improved the speed of strokes. She is not the fastest player, but she has fast strokes and her court coverage is very smooth,” Saina said.

And then there is the 24-year-old’s intense drive – a trait Saina views as key.

“Even after having won the Olympic gold and so many titles, you can still see that hunger to win. When she lost recently, you saw her crying. A player with that sort of desire is tough to defeat.”

Against the odds

The 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist is of the opinion that with cricket taking centrestage in India, athletes in other sports must stay at an elite level to gain recognition.

“In India, the problem is that if you perform in any sport apart from cricket, you don’t get much importance unless you win tournaments. Tanvi and Unnati have won tournaments, and that’s why everyone is talking about them. You have to show results and win consistently. That is when you get popular in this country.”

Saina, who is serving on the expert panel of Sony Sports Network for its coverage of the 2026 Asian Games, is hopeful that the hype around the Indian cricket teams will not overshadow other disciplines at the multi-sport extravaganza.

“I will be happy as long as medal winners from other sports are [also] celebrated. We expect the Indian cricket team to win medals at the Asian Games and the Olympics. But this could mean that medallists from other sports might feel bad if they don’t receive the same encouragement as the cricketers.

“I have a feeling that [even] if they (non-cricket sportspersons) win a gold medal, they will get sidelined. In that scenario, I will feel bad because only cricket gets the support,” Saina explained.

The Padma Bhushan awardee reflected on the challenges she faced during her playing career, especially when it came to getting the attention of the general public.

“I had to win multiple Super Series titles in a year to be there [in the spotlight]. Just one Super Series victory was not enough. I had the motivation to win an Olympic medal, and to become the World No. 1. The victories helped me appear in newspapers, and people started to notice me.”

Guts and glory

Her groundbreaking achievements were marked by self-improvement and dedication to the sport.

“I worked on improving myself every day – listening to my coaches, thinking about how to prepare for the next tournament, staying injury-free… I had big goals for myself, which is why I was able to win at Super Series events and the World championships,” Saina stated.

“Having said that, I also feel sad that after winning 24 international titles and an Olympic medal, many people confuse me with tennis player Sania Mirza.

Full of potential: Saina credits Unnati Hooda, India’s second highest-ranked women’s singles player after Sindhu, for having the requisite skills and right attitude
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

“I am sure that about 70 to 80% of girls in India do not know anything about the world of sports. We have to find out how we can promote sports. I am not against cricket, but other sports cann ever overtake cricket unless athletes keep winning at the highest level.”

Saina emphasised the role of a stable support system, starting with good parenting.

“To win even a couple of Super Series tournaments is very, very challenging for Indian players. If there is no financial support, we should not expect to win a single title.

“When my parents took the risk to support my badminton dreams, they did not think much about the great financial rewards I may get. They just wholeheartedly supported me, and luckily I could come back with so many good results. But how many parents can do this? It’s not that easy.”

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Giant-killer Ayush sends Shi packing

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Ayush, despite being pushed to the limit, never gave up.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Ayush Shetty, ahead of his badminton World championships debut against defending champion and World No. 1 Shi Yuqi, had assured: “Tomorrow is a new day, and it will be a different game.”

The youngster made good on his promise, sending the Chinese star packing on Monday for the biggest upset of the day and perhaps the entire tournament. He won 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in 73 minutes despite a late surge from Shi that almost derailed his dream start.

With Ayush leading 17-6 in the decider, the match looked all wrapped up. But Shi stepped up, produced a few impeccable smashes that landed on the line and came up with delectable drops to make it 19-20.

For all the drama, the end was marked by the softest of returns to the back of the court, leaving Shi stranded at the net. The Indian, drained to even celebrate, sported only a slight smile.

Having lost the three previous meetings, including the Asia Championships final in April, Ayush was clearly prepared for Shi.

He started aggressively and did not allow his more fancied opponent to control the momentum.

The 21-year-old took an early lead, a sequence that included the longest rally of the match (45 shots) at 8-5. Shi kept hitting wide and over even as Ayush dived all over the court, fighting for every point. Taking full advantage of his height, the Indian mixed his jump smashes with soft net play.

But to Shi’s credit, he gradually grew into the match, but Ayush was never overwhelmed.

With Shi and his coach indulging in animated discussions during every break, the Chinese was not in full control of either his game or emotions. Despite an attempted comeback, he eventually bowed out.

Ayush’s win was the highlight of the Indian challenge on a day when the rest of the home hopefuls, including P.V. Sindhu, breezed through to the next round. Sindhu went past Ireland’s Sophia Noble 21-7, 21-11.

In doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand took just over half an hour for a 21-9, 21-13 win over Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez of Spain while Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi beat another Spanish pair, Nikol Carulla and Carmen Maria Jimenez, 22-20, 21-14.

Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun were leading 21-16, 6-4 when their Irish opponents Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds conceded.

Important results: Men: Ayush Shetty bt Shi Yuqi (Chn) 21-14, 13-21, 21-19; Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) bt Clarence Villaflor (Phi) 21-12, 21-12; Toma Junior Popov (Fra) bt Dominik Kwinta (Pol) 21-19, 21-13; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Dicky Dwi Pangestu (Aze) 21-19, 21-17. Doubles: Hariharan Amsakarunan & M.R. Arjun bt Scott Guildea & Paul Reynolds (Ire) 21-16, 6-4 ret.

Women: P.V. Sindhu bt Sophia Noble (Ire) 21-7, 21-11; Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Beiwan Zhang (USA) 21-12, 21-13; An Se-young (Kor) bt Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bul) 21-14, 21-13; Mia Blichfeldt (Den) bt Keisha Fatimah Azzahra (Aze) 21-18, 21-4. Doubles: Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand bt Paula Lopez & Lucia Rodriguez (Esp) 21-9, 21-13; Kavipriya Selvam & Simran Singhi bt Nikol Carulla & Carmen Maria Jimenez (Esp) 22-20, 21-14.

Published – August 17, 2026 11:00 pm IST

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BADMINTON | Satwik-Chirag cautiously optimistic about World Championships prospects

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:26:00 +0000

Satwiksairaj and Chirag, right, in action against Malaysia’s Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai during their men’s doubles round of 32 match on day two of the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday March 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

A title after two years and a handful of early exits, coupled with injury pullouts, sum up the year Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have had so far in 2026. No wonder then that the two-time World Championships medalists and World No. 5 pair is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming edition at home.

“There is no target, we haven’t spoke anything about that. We just want to be there till the end, go as far as possible,” Satwik, recovering from a recurring shoulder injury, said on Thursday.

“But we are not thinking so much ahead, we don’t want to jinx it or put pressure on ourselves. Just one match at a time, depending on how our body is reacting.”

The injury forced the Indians to pull out of their last two outings in as many months, their last competition being the Singapore Open in May which they won.

The duo is next only to P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to win multiple medals at the marquee event, winning bronze in 2022 and 2025. A third here would seal their spot among the country’s badminton greats.

“Ideally yes, you would want match practice. But coming into a tournament, I wouldn’t say it greatly affects performance,” Chirag insisted.

“I think the most important thing is to be playing in a tournament injury-free. You don’t want to have a great competitive tournament leading up to the World Championships and then playing through injury.”

The Singapore Open also helped the duo end a two-year long title drought stretching all the way back to Thailand Open in 2024, third-place finishes at the 2025 Worlds and World Tour Finals and the Thomas Cup earlier notwithstanding.

“It did give us a lot of relief, a huge boost mentally as well and also confidence-wise. I think it definitely was very important for us because there were some wins like beating the Koreans in the semi-finals, and we understood that whatever we’ve been doing is actually working. It was a step in the right direction,” Chirag added.

Satwik was candid about the season so far. “Yeah, it’s been a mixed bag. But I wasn’t really satisfied so far because the kind of game we want to play, we are not up to the mark there.

“Losing and winning is fine but we felt somewhere we weren’t playing up to our mark in the first three tournaments. Even in Singapore, we weren’t at 100 percent fitness. But we know when we’re fit enough, we can win tournaments,” he declared.

Published – August 13, 2026 06:56 pm IST

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Badminton | Rithvik attributes recent success to an improvement in his net game

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:09:00 +0000

Rithvik Sanjeevi snaps one for his album with Croatia’s Aria Dinata whom he bested in the Valence Alpes International final.
| Photo Credit: Instagram/vai_badminton

Indian shuttler Rithvik Sanjeevi, who scored a hard-fought 17-21, 23-21, 21-16 win over Croatia’s Aria Dinata to clinch the title at the 2026 Valence Alpes International in France recently, attributed his success to an improvement in his net game, which he had long identified as a weakness.

“My net game improved from match to match. I was able to read the shuttle earlier and create openings to finish the rally. My net play and attack were on point throughout the tournament,” said Rithvik.

The title run was built on consistency and composure. Rithvik eased past France’s Arthur Chardain 21-19, 21-8 and Amaury Lièvre 21-12, 21-15 before overcoming Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko 21-17, 14-21, 21-10 in the quarterfinals. He then edged Denmark’s William Bogebjerg 21-14, 18-21, 21-17 in the semifinals to set up a title clash that tested both his tactical awareness and resilience.

Despite dropping the opening game in the final, Rithvik never felt the contest was slipping away.

“I always think that I can catch up from anywhere. It doesn’t matter what the score is. If every player has that mindset, I guess they can achieve anything,” he said.

The Indian revealed that he had studied Dinata’s game beforehand but deliberately kept his own attacking instincts in check early in the match. “I initially kept the shuttle in play. I didn’t want to use all my strengths at the start because I wanted to understand his game better. Dinata played a very clean first game, so it took me a while to recalibrate. After changing my game plan in the second game, I played the third with confidence,” said Rithvik, who is now 77th in the BWF rankings.

The triumph marks another significant milestone for the Chennai-born shuttler, whose career has been interrupted by injuries, including a meniscus tear that required surgery during the Covid lockdown and Grade 3 ankle ligament injuries in 2023 and 2024.

With the confidence of an international title behind him, Rithvik has now set his sights on breaking into the world’s top 50, while keeping his longer-term dream of winning an Olympic gold medal firmly in view.

Published – July 01, 2026 12:39 am IST

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Double for Sreeeswar Shijo – The Hindu

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 02:51:00 +0000

Sreeeswar Shijo (Idukki) won a double in the Sunrise Yonex all-Kerala Junior State ranking badminton tournament here on Sunday (June 28, 2026).

The top seed Sreeeswar Shijo defeated R.K. Omkar (Thiruvananthapuram) 15-13, 15-11 to win the boys under-15 title. In the under-17 final, Sreeeswar, seeded ninth, staged a comeback to defeat unseeded S.K. Vasudev Satheesh (Kozhikode) 11-15, 15-11, 15-12.

C.A. Achsa Mary (Ernakulam) prevailed over Mithra Sunil (Thrissur) 15-13, 16-14 to win girls under-17 title.

Thiruvananthapuram’s Afreen Qathun won the under-15 title after beating Sanviya (Kannur) 8-15, 15-10, 15-13 in the under-15 final

bt Mithra Sunil (Tsr) 15-13, 16-14.

The results (finals)

Boys: Under-15: Sreeeswar Shijo (Idk) bt R.K. Omkar (Tvm) 15-13, 15-11.

Doubles: C. Kasinath (Tvm) & Siva Shine (Ekm) bt Atharv Rajesh (Knr) & Vivaan Deepu (Tvm) 15-6, 15-10.

Mixed Doubles: Siva Shine & Angeleena Elizabeth Raju (Ekm) bt Vivaan Deepu & Afreen Qathun (Tvm) 15-11, 16-14.

Under-17: Sreeeswar Shijo .(Idk) bt S.K. Vasudev Satheesh (Koz) 11-15, 15-11, 15-12.

Doubles: Jovin Sojan & Nandan B. Nair (Ekm) bt Mohammed Hashir (Tvm) & K.S. Sourav Krishna (Ekm) 15-9, 15-13.

Mixed Doubles: Muhammed Nazmi (Wyd) & Achsa Mary (Ekm) bt Muhammed Khais & Ambika G.Nair (Koz) 15-6, 15-13.

Girls: Under-15: Afreen Qathun (Tvm) bt Sanviya (Knr) 8-15, 15-10, 15-13.

Doubles: Angeleena Elizabeth Raju (Ekm) & Sanviya (Knr) bt Afreen Qathun (Tvm) & Hayah Saleem (Koz) 15-10, 15-9.

Under-17: C.A. Achsa Mary (Ekm) bt Mithra Sunil (Tsr) 15-13, 16-14.

Doubles: Mithra Sunil (Tsr) & Shreya Maria Mathew (Ktm) bt Anha Kakkoth (Knr) & Niveditha M. Binoy (Ekm) 16-14, 15-4.

Thiruvananthapuram wins

Thiruvananthapuram: Host Thiruvananthapuram defeated Pathanamthitta by 35 runs (VJD method) to record its second consecutive win in the NSK Trophy cricket tournament at the KCA stadium here on Sunday.

Defending champion Ernakulam recorded its fourth consecutive win by scoring a 31-run win over Kozhikode. In other matches, Alappuzha scored a two-wicket win over Palakkad; Kasaragod defeated Kottayam by 25 runs; Kannur crushed Kollam by 41 runs while Combined Districts-Malappuram match was abandoned.

The scores

Pathanamthitta 138/8 in 20 overs (Shine John Jacob 46, Sudheesh Mohan 30, Adithya Mohan 3/35) lost to Thiruvananthapuram 77/1 in 7.1 overs (Shoun Roger 34, Ahammed Imran 32) (Thiruvananthapuram won by 35 runs VJD method).

Palakkad 146/7 in 15 overs (Suresh Sachin 35, Amal Raj 2/29, M. Nikhil 2/29) lost to Alappuzha 147/8 in 13.5 overs (M. Nikhil 43, G. Ajithraj 3/16).

Kasaragod 86/5 in seven overs (Sreehari Nair 2/17, Aadithya Baiju 2/37) bt Kottayam 63/8 in seven overs (Ashiq Ali 4/9).

Kozhikode 142/8 in 20 overs (Akshay Sajith 47, Rishal Ahammed 41, Ibunul Afthab 4/33) lost to Ernakulam 67/1 in 6.2 overs (Amay Manoj 34) (Ernakulam won by 31 runs, VJD method).

Kannur 86/5 in six overs (Salman Nizar 49, T.S. Vinil 2/10) bt Kollam 45/6 in six overs (C.T.K. Mohammed Nazil 3/15, Badarudheen 3/10).

Combined Districts XI 155/7 in 20 overs (A.K. Arjun 78, B. Abhiram 3/21) v Malappuram 15/1 in 2.5 overs (Match abandoned).

Published – June 29, 2026 08:21 am IST

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Ashmita Chaliha moves to quarterfinals of Malaysia Masters

admin — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:05:00 +0000

Ashmita Chaliha. File.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Ashmita Chaliha moved to the women’s singles quarterfinals, emerging as the country’s lone surviving contender after the rest of the Indian challenge came to an end at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament here on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

Ashmita registered a comfortable 21-13, 21-16 victory over Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in the pre-quarterfinals, wrapping up the contest in under 30 minutes with a composed all-round display.

She will next face eighth seed Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the last-eight stage.

Kjaersfeldt advanced after defeating India’s Malvika Bansod, who squandered a one-game advantage to go down 21-16, 8-21, 15-21 in a 59-minute battle.

In another women’s singles clash, reigning Thailand Masters champion Devika Sihag was outclassed by top seed Chen Yufei of China, who sealed a 21-16, 21-13 win in 36 minutes.

India’s mixed doubles pair of Sathwik Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma also bowed out after a hard-fought 12-21, 25-27 defeat to the American duo of Presley Smith and Jennie Gai.

In men’s doubles, the Indian combination of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun exited following a 14-21, 15-21 loss to China’s Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi.

India had endured a disappointing outing on Wednesday as well, with the likes of Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy crashing out of the tournament.

Published – May 22, 2026 04:49 am IST

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Malvika, Ashmita, Devika progress to second round; Lakshya, Prannoy out

admin — Wed, 20 May 2026 23:22:00 +0000

Malvika Bansod.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

India’s Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha and Devika Sihag emerged as the lone bright spots on an otherwise disappointing day for the country at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 in Kula Lumpur, advancing to the women’s singles second round with contrasting wins on Wednesday (Mat 20, 2026).

Malvika, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that required surgery, fought back strongly to beat Germany’s world No. 52 Yvonne Li 21-17 16-21 21-9, while Ashmita registered a comfortable 21-16 21-13 victory over Indonesia’s world No. 56 Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan.

Malvika will face Denmark’s eighth seed Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt, while Ashmita takes on Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei next.

India’s Devika Sihag, who won the Thailand Masters in February this year, saw off Park Ga Eun of Korea 19-21, 21-18, 21-19.

Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma advanced to the next round in mixed doubles after rallying to beat Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson 16-21 21-14 21-18.

However, India also suffered a string of early exits across categories.

In men’s singles, eighth seed Lakshya Sen, the brightest Indian prospect, crashed out after a shock 17-21 11-21 defeat to Indonesia’s world No. 38 Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah.

HS Prannoy, the 2023 Asian games and World Championships bronze winner, too bowed out after a marathon battle against Japan’s sixth seed Kodai Naraoka, losing 17-21 22-20 22-24 in an 80-minute contest, while Kiran George retired after trailing 15-21 1-6 against France’s seventh seed Alex Lanier.

In another match, Tharun Mannepalli squandered a one-game advantage to lose 21-17 14-21 8-21 against Chinese Taipei’s Wang Po-Wei.

In women’s singles, Anmol Kharb fought hard before going down 21-13 16-21 19-21 to Denmark’s eighth seed Line Christophersen Kjærsfeldt, while Tanvi Sharma bowed out after a 10-21 19-21 loss to Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh.

Tanya Hemanth exited after a 19-21 7-21 defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ching-Ping, while fifth seed Line Christophersen of Denmark beat Isharani Baruah 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 in another opening round match.

Mixed doubles pair of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost 13-21 18-21 to Indonesia’s Bobby Setiabudi and Melati Daeva Oktavianti in the opening round, while sisters Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were outclassed 7-21 6-21 by Japan’s second seeds and world No. 7 Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in women’s doubles.

Indonesia’s Amri Syahnawi and Nita Violina Marwah beat India’s Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde 21-15, 20-22, 21-10 in another mixed doubles clash.

Published – May 21, 2026 04:52 am IST

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P.V. Sindhu, Lakshya Sen enter Thailand Open quarterfinals, Srikanth out

admin — Thu, 14 May 2026 11:39:00 +0000

Lakshya Sen defeated China’s Zhu Xuan Chen 21-12, 21-13 in the second round
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Indian shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the $500,000 Thailand Open Super 500 tournament with straight-game wins in their respective matches here on Thursday (May 14, 2026).

Two-time Olympic medallist and sixth seed Sindhu needed just 28 minutes to outclass Denmark’s Amalie Schulz 21-13, 21-15 in the women’s singles second round.

Seventh seed Lakshya, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, defeated China’s Zhu Xuan Chen 21-12, 21-13 in a men’s singles clash that lasted 39 minutes.

Sindhu will next face top seed and world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, while Lakshya will take on Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

India’s top-seeded men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also marched into the last-eight stage with a 21-12, 21-19 win over Malaysia’s Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal in 44 minutes.

The world No. 4 Indian duo will next meet the sixth-seeded Japanese combination of Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami.

However, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth crashed out after going down 16-21, 21-11, 18-21 to Chinese Taipei’s world No. 47 Su Li Yang in a hard-fought contest lasting one hour and 10 minutes.

It was also the end of the road for young Devika Sihag, who had clinched her maiden Super 300 title at the Thailand Masters earlier this year. She lost 21-23, 11-21 to Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh.

Lakshya made a brisk start against Chen, racing to a 6-2 lead before the Chinese player fought back to draw level at 11-11. The Indian, however, shifted gears immediately, winning six consecutive points to take firm control of the opening game.

In the second game, Lakshya looked sharper and more assured as he surged to an 11-5 advantage at the interval and never allowed Chen a way back, capitalising on pressure-induced errors from his opponent.

Published – May 14, 2026 03:23 pm IST

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Kidambi Srikanth Advances To Round Two Of Thailand Masters 2025

admin — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 17:32:17 +0000

The World Championships medalist Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the round two of the men’s singles event at the ongoing Thailand Masters badminton tournament on Wednesday. Srikanth, the world number 47 defeated Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko, 74th in badminton rankings by 21-13, 21-18 within two successive games in Pathumwan on Wednesday, as per Olympics.com. Srikanth, who last clinched a BWF badminton title in the 2017 French Open Super Series, raced to a 6-0 lead against his opponent before the latter found his rhythm. The Indian shuttler however kept his calm and headed into the interval with a 11-4 lead, eventually winning the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth took the easy lead of 10-5, but Dubovenko fought back brilliantly to level the scores at 15-15. Srikanth raised his tempo, closing the match on a high and fixing a round of 16 clash against world number 41 Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong.

In other competitions, Sankar Subramanian (men’s singles), Ruban Kumar-Hariharan Amsakarunan (men’s doubles) and Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Shivani (mixed doubles) and Rakshitha Ramraj also made it to the round two.

Sankar defeated Cheam Jun Wei of Malaysia 15-21, 21-15, 21-19 in his opening round encounter and his next match will be against Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo.

On the other hand, Ruban and Hariharan beat Thailand’s Pannawat Jamtubtim-Ratchapol Makkasasithorn 21-18, 21-12 while Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Shivani beat Thailand’s Weeraphat Phakjarung-Sararat Chueboca 21-8, 21-16.

Rakshitha managed to edge past China’s Wu Luo Yu in a well-fought match by 21-19, 21-16 to secure her round of 16 spot.

Among the players who were knocked out of the competition were: Tharun Mannepalli, Satish Kumar, Ayush Shetty and Mithun Manjunath in men’s singles, Tanya Hemanth, Shriyanshi Valishetty and Tara Shah in the women’s singles competition and the Indian men’s doubles pair of Abinash Mohanty-Ayush Pattanayak.

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Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Pair Bows Out Of Indonesia Masters

admin — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 12:18:44 +0000

Indian shuttlers continued to disappoint at the international stage with Lakshya Sen and the star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashing out in the second round of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Thursday. Sen, ranked 10th in the world, extended his struggling run on the international circuit with a loss in the men’s singles second round against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 16-21 21-12 21-23 in 50 minutes. If that was not enough, Asian Games champions Satwik and Chirag, who reached back-to-back semifinals at Malaysia Super 1000 and India Super 750 in the last two weeks, also exited from the tournament with a hard-fought 20-22 21-23 loss against Thai combination of Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.

Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanshia Crasto squandered an early lead to go down 21-18 15-21 19-21 against Malaysia’s Pang Ron Hoo and Su Yin Cheng in the second round.

Sen, an Asian Games silver medallist and Commonwealth Games gold winner, made a poor start to the match as he lost the first game.

The Indian’s famed defence was ably tackled by the lower-ranked Nishimoto as he took a 9-3 lead and never looked back, despite Sen trying to make a comeback at 10-11. But Nishimoto employed fast rallies and closed out the first game comfortably.

Sen made a fast start to the second game and raced to a 6-3 lead with an aggressive smash.

Nishimoto opted for long rallies to tire out Sen but the Indian’s smart strokeplay handed him a 11-6 lead at the break.

Nishimoto then committed plenty of errors at the net as Sen’s retrieving capacity was on full display while he extended his lead to 16-8.

The Japanese was troubled by the drift as Sen picked up points at will to close out the second game at 21-12 and force the match into the decider.

With the change of sides, it was then Sen’s turn to struggle as Nishimoto raced to a 5-1 lead in the decider.

But a calm and composed Sen kept up up with his opponent till 7-7.

Sen took the lead for the first time in the decider with a jump smash but committed errors due to the drift to trail 9-11 at the final break of the tie.

Later in the day, the women’s doubles pair of Crasto and seasoned Ashwini Ponnappa will be up against Malaysian combination of Pei Kee Go and Mei Xing Teoh.

On Wednesday, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and upcoming men’s singles player Priyanshu Rajawat crashed out in the opening round.

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